Massively

Sparkplay LF Community Manager, PST

Krystalle Voecks — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, News items, Earth Eternal

If you've been looking for a game that offers something off the beaten path - or a job in a gaming startup with potential in San Francisco - then you may be interested in the opportunity over at SparkPlay Media. According to a recent posting on their website, they're looking for a Community Manager for their upcoming MMO, Earth Eternal. They're looking for the normal medley of things for anyone who will work heavily as a liason between community and the internal customers; creativity, organization, communication, experience and excitement.

That said, if you're in the Bay Area, have games industry experience, and are looking for a way to get into the MMO side of things, be sure to check out their job posting. For the rest of us who are just a wee bit too far away for the commute, we'll have to content ourselves with a gallery of tasty screenshots from Earth Eternal for now.

Gallery: Earth Eternal

Sparkplay LF Community Manager, PST originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fallen Earth MMO tour will bring devs to GDC 09

James Egan — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Events, real-world, MMO industry, News items

We've mentioned a rather unique approach that the Fallen Earth team is taking to promote their upcoming post-apocalyptic MMO, a national tour across key cities in the United States. The Fallen Earth publicity tour began in North Carolina last month, meeting with the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), and they've just announced that they'll be working with the IGDA again at this month's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

Fallen Earth will co-sponsor the IGDA networking event at GDC on March 24 and developers will be on hand to speak about the game. Key Fallen Earth devs planning to attend include project manager Colin Dwan; associate project manager Dave Haydysch; content team lead Marie Croall; product manager Jessica Orr; and lead game designer Lee Hammock.

Fallen Earth MMO tour will bring devs to GDC 09 originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CCP Games to present at Game Developers Conference 2009

James Egan — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Events, real-world, MMO industry, News items, Education

CCP Games, the developer of EVE Online, has announced that they'll have a presence at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) next month. The company's CMO, Ryan Scott Dancey (aka CCP RyanD), is slated to speak about how CCP uses social network engineering to reach out to more subscribers. Specifically, he'll describe how the company puts Tipping Point theory (about how information spreads) into action. That session is titled: "Network Marketing: Leveraging Social Networks to Grow an MMO".

On the technology front, CCP's CTO Halldor Fannar will speak at GDC 2009 in a session geared more towards programmers and technical artists, "From Evolution to Revolution: Upgrading the Graphics Engine of EVE Online". Fannar will lay out the issues CCP has faced with upgrading EVE's graphics engine, and explain how their ideas went from being on paper to a shipping game. His presentation will show the tools in action that allowed them to "take the required generational leap in art production."

Game Developers Conference 2009 runs from March 23-27 at the Moscone Center, San Francisco, and as we've mentioned previously, will have a lot to offer MMO fans of all genres.

CCP Games to present at Game Developers Conference 2009 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Discounted code for Social Gaming Summit

Akela Talamasca — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, Culture, MMO industry, News items, Academic, Virtual worlds

Previously reported, the Social Gaming Summit is full steam ahead and ready to go on June 13th at the UCSF Mission Bay Conference Center in San Francisco, CA. It will be a day full of interesting panels and discussions about the interface between social networks and game spaces.

If you were thinking of going but were on the fence, perhaps this will sweeten the deal for you: Massively readers have been offered a 10% discount code by the kind-hearted organizers behind the Summit! To register, visit the site and enter 'MASSIVELY' (minus the quotation marks, of course) where appropriate. This blogger will be in attendance, nosing around for news and interviews -- hope to see you there!

[Thanks, Charles!]

Discounted code for Social Gaming Summit originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 May 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Second Life Musician Showcase

Akela Talamasca — Sat, 03 May 2008 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Real life, Culture, Events, real-world, Events, in-game, News items, Second Life, Free-to-play, Virtual worlds

On May 14th, San Francisco's Rock-It Room will witness the second coming of the Second Life Musician Showcase, featuring not one, not two, but seven Second Life musicians in the flesh. On the roster for the evening are Keiko Takamura, Melanie Keller, Hailey Bailey, BabbleGrabble Swindlehurst, Pato Milo, Jacopo de Nicola, and ZeroOne Paz.

The previous show was a huge success, with the event simultaneously streamed into SL. Bravo to the Rock-It Room for the vision to host the event, and wishes for a great evening of fun and great tunes. For those local to SF, there will be a $5 cover, and the rest of you will likely be able to check out the stream. Contact Hailey Bailey in-world for more details!

[Thanks, Lisa!]

The Second Life Musician Showcase originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 03 May 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cinemassively: Second Life Bravia commercial

Moo Money — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: Video, Second Life, Free-to-play, Cinemassively, Machinima, Humor

Two years ago, Sony dropped 250,000 colorful, bouncy balls down a street in San Francisco to show the clarity of their Bravia televisions. Last month, Second Life resident Dorky Mohr decided to recreate that commercial as a machinima. While it pokes fun at the physical balls not crashing the sim due to the Havok 4 upgrade, this blogger still saw the beauty of the original commercial in this one.

[Thanks, Dorky!]

If you have machinima or movie suggestions from any MMO, please send them to machinima AT massively DOT com, along with any information you might have about them.

Cinemassively: Second Life Bravia commercial originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 09 Apr 2008 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Second Life musicians to play San Francisco

Akela Talamasca — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Real life, Culture, Events, real-world, Second Life, Free-to-play, Virtual worlds

Three accomplished musicians with regular gigs in Second Life will be bringing their music to San Francisco on March 12th in the Rock-it Room. Melanie Keller, Cylindrian Rutabaga, and Keiko Takamura will be bringing the Real to their previously virtual shows.

Additionally, this event will be streamed into SL by way of the Friends of the Urban Forest, an organization that helps Greenify the environment by planting trees. Their sim will host the stream for those who can't make the event in SF. For those of you who've never seen a simultaneous SL/Real life event, it's worth the cost of admission alone!

Second Life musicians to play San Francisco originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 05 Mar 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GDC08: An evening with Will Wright minus friends (video)

Akela Talamasca — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 13:15:00 EST

Filed under: Video, Culture, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion, Academic, Massively Event Coverage

I applied for, and received an invitation to 'An Evening with Will Wright and Friends', held in Mezzanine, a swanky club in San Francisco's SOMA district on Thursday evening. I didn't know what exactly to expect, but I knew two things: 1) It wasn't going to be about Spore, and 2) It was Will Freaking Wright. How did I know Spore wasn't on the offering? 'Cause we're all kind of Spore'd out, aren't we?

I was right about the lack of Spore, but was pleasantly surprised and gratified to hear Will speak on a variety of topics -- James Bond, cosmonauts, Gilligan's Island as the predecessor of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman comics, Godzilla, Care Bears, Lost, Walt Disney, Battlestar Galactica, Spiderman, and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance -- before finally wrapping it all up with the observation that the stories that resonate with us are deconstructible; we can reduce them to components, and using those components, build our own stories.

Finally, accepting questions from the audience, I asked him what advice he'd give NASA as they create their MMO. His friends never showed up, but man, Will Wright is always worth a listen. He knows his stuff so well and is such a wonderful speaker ... check out the video I shot after the break, and you'll see what I mean.

Continue reading GDC08: An evening with Will Wright minus friends (video)

GDC08: An evening with Will Wright minus friends (video) originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 22 Feb 2008 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively's at GDC!

Elizabeth Harper — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 13:40:00 EST

Filed under: Events, real-world, Massively Meta, Virtual worlds

Happy Monday, everyone! Joystiq and Massively are out in force on the streets of San Francisco this week covering the Game Developers Conference. Through we're bleary-eyed from late night Rock Band sessions and just starting on our daily caffeine allotment (hey, it's still morning in California!) we're here for you, covering all the news that's fit to virtually print. Today and tomorrow we'll be at the Worlds in Motion Summit, where it's all virtual worlds, all the time, and for the rest of the week we'll be out on the show floor searching out every tidbit of MMO news. Keep an eye out for the latest on all of your favorite games this week from GDC!

Gallery: GDC 2008 Pre-show

Massively's at GDC! originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 18 Feb 2008 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Second Life Philip Linden/Gavin Newsom Fireside Chat, Part 1

Akela Talamasca — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Real life, Podcasts, Culture, Events, real-world, Events, in-game, Interviews, MMO industry, News items, Opinion, Second Life, Free-to-play, Politics, Academic, Education, Virtual worlds

As reported here, today saw the meeting of minds between Second Life's Philip Rosedale (aka Philip Linden) and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom at the New Globe Theater, a meeting held and sponsored by Millions of Us, a metaverse development company (MDC), with Reuben Millionsofus as moderator. This is the mp3 and transcript of part one of the chat. I have chosen to edit out of the transcript, for the most part, verbal tics that don't contribute to the content of the chat, but these elements remain in the mp3. If you're unfamiliar with Second Life, every now and then you'll hear what sounds like a Polaroid camera going off -- this is the sound of in-world snapshots being taken of the proceedings. You will also hear typing sounds from time to time -- this is the default typing animation sound.

Part two will go up tomorrow at this time. Enjoy!

[Mp3] Download the MP3 directly

[Thanks, Celebrity!]

Continue reading The Second Life Philip Linden/Gavin Newsom Fireside Chat, Part 1

The Second Life Philip Linden/Gavin Newsom Fireside Chat, Part 1 originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Game mechanics: Crafting deities

Akela Talamasca — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 13:02:00 EST

Filed under: Game mechanics, Crafting, PvP, Opinion, Roleplaying

Hey, check this out. I was pondering something the other day as I passed a Buddhist temple in San Francisco: virtually every religion that has ever been still exists in some form or another. It's said that a god only dies when its last follower has lost faith. That got me thinking: how could this work as a play mechanic in an MMO?

What if you could craft your own religion, the same way you craft a weapon, complete with the deity of your choice, and receive direct benefit from worshiping at its temple? Say, a hefty buff to carry into your next battle, or an automatic resurrection upon any of your teammates? Further, let's suppose that the only way for your god to grow in strength was for you to build temples to it, at which its adherents would pray for a predetermined duration each game session?

It gets crazier: you could proselytize and convert other players to your religion, or defile the temples of your rivals and weaken their god's strength. With a minimum number of followers needed to create a new god, there would be few instances of novelty and 'throwaway', or 'gag' gods to clutter up the system; this would be a serious tactic for use by the devout! There are many ways to make this sort of thing work. What about roleplay? Would there be PvE applications as well as PvP? Is there already something like this in place for some MMO? Someone send me a sign, show me the light!

Game mechanics: Crafting deities originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 20 Nov 2007 13:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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9th Transgender Day of Remembrance Observed in Second Life

Akela Talamasca — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 08:30:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Events, real-world, Events, in-game, Opinion, Second Life

It's all too easy to dismiss those who are different as unworthy of consideration, respect, or even simple human rights. Growing up in Hawai'i and living in San Francisco, I've led a pretty sheltered existence, taking equality among individuals to be a given; it's when I travel outside of these environs that I'm always shocked how much antipathy and outright hate there is for those who are Not Like Us, whoever and whatever that might resemble.

Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance, an occasion to remember victims of hate crimes perpetrated upon them for simply being different. Cities worldwide will be holding vigils to commemorate lost friends, lovers, and family members, and Second Life is no different. Elysium Gardens, with the support of the Transgender Resource Center, will host its first service: "The service itself will consist of Second Life residents and their allies sharing their personal stories and memories of friends, loved ones, and members of the community who were victims of hate crimes or who committed suicide. Also included will be personal stories from law enforcement officials and service providers who are familiar with such tragic events including the refusal of emergency services from healthcare providers and medical personal because of bias against the transgendered. The service will be held at Elysium Gardens' new Transgender Suicide Memorial."

For more information on this all-day event, contact Random Demina or Jani Myriam in-world.

[Thanks, Jani!]

9th Transgender Day of Remembrance Observed in Second Life originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 20 Nov 2007 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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